


Iridescent

by barrybinary



Series: DC Tumblr Prompt Fills [3]
Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Prompt Fill, Red String of Fate, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 04:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15187049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barrybinary/pseuds/barrybinary
Summary: Batman wants to fix what he messed up."Anonymous said:Birdflash with a soulmate au? Like maybe the red string of fate."





	Iridescent

**Author's Note:**

> au where bruce is more protective over dick and doesn't allow him to join teams.

“What?” Dick _obviously_ wasn’t hearing right. “You want me to work with _other people?_ ” Dick was certain he heard Bruce wrong, he _never_ wanted him to work with anyone. Every other sidekick under the moon formed teams and made friendships, and Bruce kept him safe in Gotham, far away from where any other hero could reach him.

Even after all the years of working mostly on his own, avoiding other heroes was _habit_. Other heroes didn’t come into Blüdhaven; even with all the crime and wrong-doings occuring in the city, it seemed no one paid attention to it except him. If another hero showed interest in it, maybe he'd team up, make superhero friends like everyone else. 

Though, he wasn't sure he'd know  _how._

Not that he hadn’t worked with heroes before, and being the adopted son of Batman meant he knew the identities of everyone in the league or associated with it. Clark was a frequent enough guest at the manor that it was almost impossible for Dick _not_ to have met him. Barry Allen, the Flash, had visited once with Hal Jordan. Hal’d been kicked out once Bruce caught sight of him, but Barry was allowed to stay for dinner; marking that the second time Dick asked to be able to work with Kid Flash. There were ulterior motives for the request, but Bruce didn’t know about that.

Jason hadn’t been allowed to work with others either, but when he died, Bruce stopped enforcing those rules. Now, Tim was a part of that Young Justice group with the clone and Flash’s grandson from the future, able to do almost whatever he wanted as long as it wasn’t giving away his identity, and Dick would be lying if he said he wasn’t _extremely_ jealous.

 _Years_ of his youth spent asking to work with others, and now Bruce was asking _him_ to work with Kid Flash.

“Yes, you can take care of yourself,” Bruce replied, which was immediately followed by Dick’s shout:

“I could take care of myself before!”

Bruce sighed into the receiver, sounding so weary Dick was reminded he wasn’t in his late twenties, adopting circus boys anymore. He was still adopting boys, they just weren’t of the circus variety.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you — I didn’t trust _them_ .” Which, whether Bruce realized it or not, was a bold-faced lie. Bruce didn’t trust anyone, not _truly_.

Dick flopped down onto his bed, the soft afternoon sun shining through his window while he observed the string on his finger remaining stationary. He was used to it flitting around wildly, making obvious the powers they have as they run circles around Dick without being anywhere near. He rubbed where it was tied around his finger, his thumb going through the translucent red string only he could see. “Why do I need to help them?”

Bruce went into his debriefing voice, words coming out robotically as he went through the mission details. Some of Kid Flash’s enemies, Captain Cold and his rogues, were coming into Blüdhaven for something, likely a heist. All KF needed was someone who knew the city and could take care of themselves. Dick frowned, going over all the information he had on Captain Cold in his head. Blüdhaven? Anywhere else other than _Central?_ It wasn’t his style. Peppering thoughtful grunts and hums throughout the conversation occasionally to show he was paying attention, Dick pulled out his laptop to access the files on Kid Flash and Captain Cold. Both were extensive, and Dick had already just about memorized Wally West’s profile. Having the Bat’s files was something Dick was used to, probably a little spoiled by, but he did his best to contribute as much information as needed.

“Why Blüdhaven? We have nothing.” He wasn’t wrong, there weren’t many things in Blüdhaven worth stealing — didn’t stop people from robbing others, though, but there wasn’t anything _heist_ -worthy.

Bruce didn’t miss a beat- “That’s for you and Kid Flash to find out,” he said, hanging up right after. Usually, someone hanging up on you was rude, but Bruce did it for another purpose: dramatic effect.

The first few times it’s cool, but after knowing the man for over a decade, it just gets _annoying_.

Dick was to meet Wally in less than twelve hours, the man he’d never seen face-to-face. His eyes moved to look at the string, now flitting around quicker than his eyes could follow, but always pointing west, towards Central City.

—

The light of the moon reflected off the sleek bits of Nightwing’s suit, his white eye-lenses almost glowing in comparison to the dark blue material of his mask. Blüdhaven smelled of musk and the occasional gunpowder, smog blanketing the city in a sick glow lit up by the moon hanging above. In this low light, he could barely see the string connecting him and his soulmate, only visible if he held his hand in front of the moon.

“Hey!” A new voice sounded through his comm, making him tense and subtly check his surroundings. He moved, picking the lock to the doorway leading inside the building he was atop to hide in the stairwell. He turned the light on, watching the red string move much quicker than it ever has, showing that whoever it was moved in a circle around him almost too quick to see.

“B gave you one of our comms?” He said, keeping his voice neutral. Wally gave him an affirmative, one he didn’t need but still accepted. Dick spit out an address, turning off the light and opening the door, pausing just a moment to say into the comm “Come here.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised when he opened the door fully, Kid Flash already stood there, but his hand still shot back to grab an escrima stick in shock. The unexpected arrival time spooked Dick, but the smile he wore and peppy posture he had confused him, too. Working with Flash a few times still hadn’t made him used to the sheer friendliness they exuded. Dick was always more of a smiler and a talker than Bruce, but living so long with only Bruce, one of the most frowny men alive, for company had almost beaten it out of him.

Part of Kid Flash made him want to smile again.

Dick’s hand relaxed, falling back to his side. “How far away were you?” He asked, letting himself sound impressed.

Wally almost bounced up at the question, “I was just running around the city,” he moved his hand in a circular motion as he spoke, “until I decided to contact you. Now, what do you need help with, again? Bats wasn’t really descriptive and Barry didn’t know anything about it… so…”

Dick hummed in response, earlier suspicions about the entire thing growing. “Who did he say we were fighting?”

Wally’s relaxed smile turned into a confused frown, his arm coming to scratch the back of his head. “He said it was a recon mission, actually…” His voice trailed off, looking down and then looking back to Dick. “Why would _Bats_ pick _me_ for a recon mission?” He asked, his voice going higher as he too realized something was amiss. Dick watched Wally, watched his shoulders turn inwards as his confidence in the situation at hand wavered. “He just told me you’d give me all the information.”

Dick sighed, “The only thing you need to know is that we’ve been played. B told me your rogues were coming here and you wanted someone who knew the city.” He turned away from Wally, before turning his head to say “It was nice finally meeting you.” He flexed his legs to jump off of the side then stopped when he saw the blur of Wally get between him and the edge —  _way_ too close — and did a back handspring away from him, putting a good amount of distance between himself and the other.

"Nightwing, why did Batman set us up?" He asked. "I can't think of  _any_ reason."

He wondered if Wally felt the pull he did, the urge to come closer to  _touch_ and solidify the bond he didn't even know existed. "It's better if I leave," Dick said, his head tilting down in an apology before putting one foot behind the other, stalking backwards while keeping a firm eye on Wally.

Electricity filled the air once more as Kid Flash stood a mere three feet away from him. "You know I've wanted to meet you since before I was a hero, right? Can't you at least give me a reason why Batman might want to bring us together?" All he got was a shrug in reply, and Wally sighed, reaching a hand out to clap him on the shoulder before Dick moved faster than Wally could've ever predicted. He ducked, looking like he was falling to the floor before jumping many feet back near the edge.

If Wally weren't one of the fastest men alive, Dick would've been able to jump and expertly maneuver away. Even though Dick realized he didn't have a connection to the speedforce and therefore could never outrun him, it didn't make him feel any better as he felt arms wrap around him to keep him from diving off the roof. 

Wally's grip instantly released, and Dick could run, could leave Wally in the dust as he stared in shock. He wouldn't though. because when Wally held him, he realized he'd felt  _whole._ He felt like he belonged somewhere after years of not belonging anywhere.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been touched with nice intentions, and he  _craved_ it.

Wally was looking at his finger, rubbing where the string was tied and watching as his other finger went straight through it. In the darkness, the glowing of the string made it look solid. It glowed with every color as the bond began to settle; it was one of the most beautiful things Dick had ever seen.

Wally appeared right in front of him, his smile glowing more beautiful than the string. "Can I hug you? Can we just sit on this rooftop and hug?" Dick nodded hesitantly, not able to keep a small smile from forming on his face. He found he didn't even react when, next thing he knew, they were sitting against the doorway to the roof, him in Wally's lap and wound up in his arms. He knew he wouldn't hurt him; he would  _feel_ it if he had bad intentions.

"Why were you trying to run?" Wally asked, his voice soft but loud from his mouth being only a few inches away from Dick's ear. Dick swallowed nervously.

"I don't know what all you know about me, but... I'm not exactly used to talking to people. Especially not heroes." He felt Wally nod, a push to continue, so he did. "B kept me in Gotham, away from everyone else my age, and making friends at school seemed pointless because they'd never know the most important part of my life, so I just... never made friends," His words came out quick, too honest. 

Wally's arms squeezed him and he felt blissful from the contact, impulsively shoving his face into the crook of his neck. It was there he heard Wally chuckle, and ask, "You're not used to people touching you this much?" Dick nodded. "You like it though?" He nodded more vigorously. "Then I'll make sure you get used to it." Dick could hear the smile in his voice, and he wasn't surprised when he felt his own mouth curve into a similar one.

**Author's Note:**

> ive written a good amount of soulmate aus (some posted elsewhere, some never posted.) but i've never done a red string of fate one. i like how this turned out. [here](http://haljords.tumblr.com/post/175603693703/birdflash-with-a-soulmate-au-like-maybe-the-red) is the link to reblog it on tumblr!


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